Veterans
Richie is the only candidate in this race who is a veteran. He served in the Army from 1969 to 1971 earning a Bronze Star as a military intelligence officer in Vietnam. Richie used the GI Bill to help pay for his law degree.
According to Richie, the treatment of today’s veterans is disgraceful. Their medical care upon returning from Iraq and Afghanistan has been a well known national disgrace. This has been partially attributed to the poor equipment supplied them in this conflict. This is on top of two political leaders, the President and Vice President, who sat out the Vietnam War, but had no problem ordering others into Iraq on false grounds.
This nation must develop a new GI Bill that will assist veterans with their education and provide adequate medical care and housing assistance similar to that following World War II. While the challenges following the Cold War are of a different nature, they still require a skilled and motivated military presence.